by Nate Ryan, USA TODAY Sports

by Nate Ryan, USA TODAY Sports

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Most of Brad Keselowski's team didn't know the woman in the red coat who appeared on the No. 2 pit box for the Chase for the Sprint Cup opener.

"I think (crew chief) Paul Wolfe knew who she was, but the other people thought she was maybe a sponsor who maybe got the wrong seat," Roger Penske told USA TODAY Sports with a chuckle. "I think they knew at the end of the next week who she was."

Everyone knows the identity of the mystery woman now.

At the request of her husband, Kathy Penske has become a weekly fixture on Keselowski's pit box since his victory at Chicagoland Speedway. She was there Sunday for the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway as Keselowski took a 20-point lead over Jimmie Johnson into the season finale.

"She'd been at other races before, but in the Chase this year, she wanted to support the team and support me," Roger Penske said. "(Chicagoland) was the start of it, and once she got in, she hasn't gotten off the box. It's been great.

"I told her she has to wear that red coat. That's her lucky charm. It's been terrific that she wants to be there."

ESPN analyst Rusty Wallace, who drove for Penske Racing from 1991 to 2005, said it isn't surprising that Penske would keep his spouse stationed atop the box.

"They have some mojo going on,and I know Roger," Wallace said. "When something's working, he says,'Keep doing it. Keep doing it.' Until that car wrecks and falls off the track,she's going to be on that pit box."

But does she actually like racing?

"Oh yeah, but I think she thinks I do too much of it," Penske said with a laugh. "She'd rather have me playing golf with her on the weekends than at the racetrack, but it's been in my blood so long, it's hard to get it out."